Broadband policy: where the parties stand

The Government and the Opposition have put forward their plans to give Australians high-speed internet. The National Broadband Network is already being rolled out in some areas but the Opposition has put forward an alternative idea.

What aspects of broadband policy do major parties agree on?

Broadband speed and availability can be much better in most Australian cities, suburbs, towns and farms. Both the ALP and the Coalition agree on a substantial role for government in upgrading networks to deliver higher speeds. Both would use a publicly owned NBN Co to run their National Broadband Network. Both agree it will take several years to complete their NBN: 2021 for ALP, 2019 for Coalition.

What are the key differences between the major parties?

Download speed, cost, technology and design all differ. The ALP's NBN relies on a taxpayer-funded monopoly taking a decade to get fibre optic cable to 93 per cent of buildings in the country (12 million premises) at a capital cost of $37.4billion and total funding of $44.1 billion. The Coalition's NBN network would take fibre to neighbourhood cabinets or "nodes", leaving existing copper cables to connect the final few hundred metres to the home or business. Its Fibre to the Node (FFTN) network has a capital cost of $20.4 billion and total funding of $29.5 billion. The biggest difference comes down to: "the need for speed". The Coalition offers relatively slower potential maximum speeds than Labor's – based on the assumption that 50mbps is enough bandwidth for most applications, or as spokesman Malcolm Turnbull puts it: "Speed is only valuable to you insofar as you can use it for something."

Coalition

Potential download speed: FTTN “minimum” 25-100mbps by end 2016. 50-100mbps by end 2019 for “vast majority”.

Upload speeds: Not mandated.

Completion date: 2019

Competition: Policy is to “remove or waive impediments..to competition.”Practically, could allow Telstra and Optus to compete, using existing networks designed for Pay-tv.

Pricing: Wholesale price cap set by ACCC.

Greens

Support Labor NBN.

Want NBNco to pick-up on lagging construction schedule.

Criticises Coalition's FTTN plan as "..part-privatised patchwork which will require the installation of 70-80,000 powered cabinets."

Won amendments to ensure that any future moves to privatise the NBN will be subject to a review to protect the public interest and will require the approval of Parliament. Initially, the Government planned to sell the network to the private sector upon completion.

What don't we know about the major parties' policies?

Ability to deliver, to deliver on time or to deliver on budget remain the big challenges for any NBN. The Government's rollout is running behind scheduled benchmarks for premises passed with fibre. The Coalition's timetable draws on international experience with network construction, especially the UK and US, with their different geography and population densities. It also relies on assumptions which could change if it wins office and obtains detailed knowledge of NBN Co's commercial decisions.

What we don't know

ALP

NBN commercial viability - will it provide 7% return on investment?

Customer connection (take-up) And will they choose to buy plans at speeds which justify the cost of a FTTP network?

Coalition

Will ageing copper networks be up to the job?

Exact starting position - how much of Labor’s FTTP NBN will be built or contractually locked-in by Sept. 2013.

How to renegotiate Telstra’s $11bn deal with NBNco.

Greens

How would the Greens, in a Senate balance-of-power position, vote on any legislation required for Coalition NBN?